This pre- and post-doctoral training program, now in its 25th year, will provide the scientific background and methodologic experience that will enable successful trainees to pursue investigative careers in biochemistry, molecular genetics and other areas of experimental pathology. The emphasis of the program will be in the areas of atherosclerosis, angiogenesis, and thrombosis research. This program will provide intensive research opportunities employing basic techniques in molecular/structural biology, cell culture, protein and lipid biochemistry, enzymology and molecular pharmacology. Specific areas under active investigation by the 13 program faculty include the study of: macrophage function;angiogenesis;fibrinolysis;lipoprotein receptor structure and function;mechanisms of platelet adhesion;nitric oxide biology;cellular transformation by viruses;relationship of nerve growth factors and neurotrophins to vascular cell proliferation and differentiation;the role of smooth muscle proteins in developmental aspects of the vasculature and in hypertrophic cardiomyopathies. There is a close working relationship that exists between the 5 basic science departments and the Department of Medicine at Cornell with our 3 NIH Program Project Grants on Vascular Cell Signaling, Atherosclerosis, and Angiogenesis. The close proximity of the vascular biology program faculty to each other in the Center of Vascular Biology will indeed contribute to a fertile research environment which emphasizes the application of basic research to problems in human arterial disease. Five postdoctoral research trainees (M.D., M.D./Ph.D., or Ph.D.) will be expected to attend and participate in a series of didactic courses such as ethics, statistics, and scientific writing, weekly research seminars, journal clubs, and research-in-progress sessions. Three pre-doctoral fellows admitted to our Cornell University Graduate Program will take graduate courses according to program requirements, participate in seminars and journal clubs, undertake 3 laboratory rotations, and will train in laboratories which emphasize either a biochemical, cellular, molecular or structural biology approach to vascular diseases. They are also expected to take courses in ethics, scientific writing and statistics. Since the Weill Cornell Medical College is located on a large campus in Manhattan that includes the Graduate School of Medical Sciences of Cornell University, The New York Presbyterian Hospital, Rockefeller University and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, our pre-and post-doctoral trainees will be in an intellectually-rich environment to pursue rigorous graduate and post-graduate studies in cardiovascular biology.